Tell a Tail of Terra
by Amerath's Destiny
Summary: While Terra is out on mission, Aqua and Ven make a new friend. What happens when Terra gets jealous?


The sun was bright and shining, as always, in the summer-set Land of Departure. As always, the birds sang among the flowers, and, as always, the great white castle hung from chains attached to the surrounding mountains.

_Not _as always, a large, dark portal opened up high above one of the mountains, spewing out a suit of red and gold armor riding a gold and blue Keyblade Rider. As it descended, it slowed, until it hovered over the grounds of the castle, near the fountain, before it disappeared altogether

In it's place stood a young man who couldn't have been older than eighteen. His brown hair stood up in multiple directions, and dark blue eyes, turned up toward the castle door as his name was called.

"Terraaaaaaaa!"

Out of the doors came a young blond boy, running toward Terra. Compared to Terra's spiky-yet-still-rather-tame hair, he looked like he had just stuck his fingers into an electric socket, or at least it seemed that it had never seen a comb in his life.

Before Terra could reply, his friend's energetic mouth was off and running. "Terra! I missed you! How was your mission? Didya miss me and Aqua and Master Eraqus too? Was the mission hard? What kind of world did you travel to? What kind of people did you meet? Did you get hurt at all? You know Aqua will be worried if you did. Oh, speaking of Aqua-"

Terra cut him off by reaching over and ruffling his already-messy blond locks. "Hey, Ven, I missed you too, but you have to let me get a word or two in."

Ven just grinned, folding his arms behind his head. "I can't help being curious!" he replied. Then, he snapped his fingers, as if just remembering something. "I think Aqua wanted to see you. You probably want to go talk to her now."

This confused Terra. Why would Aqua want to see him immediately? Usually, she would wait until they ran into each other, after Terra had reported to Master Eraqus on his mission, before asking any questions.

"What for?" he asked.

Ven just grinned even wider. Terra swore that one day that grin would extend beyond the confines of his face if it grew much larger. "I guess you'll have to find out for yourself!" he cried before turning and running off to do whatever Vens did with their free time.

Bemused, Terra turned to the castle to find Aqua.

* * *

He found her in the sitting room, relaxing in what was supposed to be his recliner. She had her back facing to him, and appeared to be focused on a book in her lap.

"Oh, Terra," she sighed deeply. "You have no idea how much I love those blue eyes of yours."

Terra stiffened as she started to speak. Loved…his blue eyes? Was this a confession? Did she…have feelings for him too?

Terra could hardly remember when he stopped seeing Aqua as a fellow apprentice, as a _friend_, and started to see her as…well, a girl. He supposed it was a slow process, starting from when she started to grow out of the awkward stage that was adolescence (when they _both_ grew out of it, he reminded himself). Gawky, too-long limbs proportioned out with the rest of her body, and soft curves gradually started to grow in, though her hips still remained fairly slim. The clumsy stage that all went through at a certain period of their lives faded, and she began to move with an almost serene grace, like she was some sort of constant dance.

And so Terra started to notice her. To notice the way her blue eyes glittered in the low light when they would go stargazing. To notice how she would fiddle with her sleeve warmers when she was nervous, or how she would get that innocent expression and bounce on the balls of her feet when she knew something he didn't and wanted to tell him. To notice how she gave him the same friendly smile that she had since she had come to live with him and Master Eraqus, and yet it still caused his heart to leap to his throat and butterflies to start fluttering around in his stomach.

Did she really feel the same way?

"I can almost see the pensive thoughts going on behind them." she continued on.

She thought…he was pensive? And liked his eyes?

"You know, you're such a handsome boy," he was sure that if she was faced towards him, she would be smiling dreamily.

But…Though he did agree that he was pretty good-looking, he was not a _boy_. He was full grown, a _man_, please and thank you. However, before he could point this out, she continued on.

"Oh, Terra. I love everything about you. I even love your paunchy little tummy," she giggled.

Fat…What? Terra looked down at his stomach. He wasn't fat! At least, he didn't think he wasn't.

Terra stepped forward and rested his hand on the back of the armchair. "Aqua, what are you-"

Oh.

_Oh._

She wasn't reading a book.

Instead, on her lap, sat the _fattest _cat Terra had ever seen.

Aqua, who obviously didn't notice he had been standing there the entire time, looked up and smiled at him. "Oh, hey, Terra. When did you get back?"

Terra didn't answer her. He just pointed at the cat. "What is _that_?"

"Oh!" she glanced down at her lap. "A few days ago, Ven and myself were training out in one of the gardens, when we heard a strange sound. After a little bit of searching, we found him stuck up in a tree. Ven went up to go get him, but then he got stuck too, and I had to call Master Eraqus to come get them. Anyways, Master let us keep him, since he doesn't seem to have a home, and Ven suggested we call him Terra, because he looks sort of like you."

It was true. The cat was a deep chocolate color, a lot like the color of his hair, with darker brown stripes, and when he looked up at Terra to blink sleepily, he could see he had identical cobalt eyes.

"That cat is fat. I'm not." Terra replied firmly.

Aqua chuckled a little, probably at his unintentional rhyme, before shaking his head at him. "Ven was just having a little fun, and we were going to change it once we thought of a better one, but then he started to respond to 'Terra', and it was kind of too late to change it." She shrugged.

Terra just scowled before turning on his heel and leaving.

* * *

That cat was going to be the death of him.

For the past two weeks, Aqua had spent her every spare moment with Terra (the cat). Directly after Master Eraqus had excused them from training, she go up to her room, where the fat cat would be napping on her pillow. More than once, Terra (the human) had walked into the room where they usually relaxed after training, only to find her sitting in the (_his_) armchair, holding a book in front of her nose with one hand and petting the cat with the other. The furry creature even sat by her feet during meals, and Terra wouldn't be surprised to find that she had been feeding it scraps. He could have sworn the cat was getting fatter every day; human food probably wasn't very slimming for a it.

But not today. Today, Terra had invited Aqua to a sparring session after training, and, though she looked a little reluctant to leave the cat alone, she had agreed. Now was the time to prove he a much better companion than some dumb cat.

And here she came now, stepping gracefully out of the double doors of the castle, heading out to where he was standing. Terra took a moment to appreciate the graceful way she moved, almost as if she were dancing a dance only she could hear the music to, that only she knew the moves to.

Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, he couldn't quite keep a faint blush from rising to his cheeks. Aqua tilted her head slightly as she approached, her brow scrunching up in a worried expression.

"Terra, are you all right?" she asked. "You're a little red. You're not getting heatstroke, are you?"

Terra shook his head. "Uh, no, I'm fine. Let's train." He turned on his heel and strode a few steps away from her before turning to face her, summoning Earth Shaker. Rain Fall was already in Aqua's hands, and she settled into a relaxed fighting stance.

Terra already knew she could beat him in the waiting game, so decided to skip the staring contest that usually began each match and charged at her, slashing at her chest. Aqua easily skipped out of the way of his attack before darting back in once more, swinging her Keyblade at his head. Terra blocked it before bringing his Keyblade around in a circle and forcing her to let go of hers or else have her arm twisted off. Rain Fall went flying and landed on the ground in a clatter before it disappeared in a flash of light.

Aqua looked first where her blade had disappeared, then at Earth Shaker, now pointed toward her chest, then at Terra.

"Oops."

With a snarl of frustration, Terra threw his Keyblade aside, where it also disappeared in a flash of light. This was definitely the shortest sparring session the two of them had ever had. She wasn't even trying! He had only needed one offensive slash and a counter to beat her, and, much as he hated it, he knew he wasn't that good. She hadn't even tried to throw any magic at him, which was her specialty!

Then, it hit him.

She didn't want to train with him.

She wanted to go back to that stupid cat.

That stupid cat that had stolen his name, Aqua's time with him, and now Aqua herself.

"You know what? Forget it," Terra turned around and started marching back to the castle.

"Terra!" Aqua came running after him, grabbing his shoulder. He jerked away from her touch.

"Terra, what's wrong with you?" Aqua shook her head slowly.

"Oh, nothing! Everything's perfect!" Terra threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Go hang out with the _other _Terra! I'm sure he's much better than me!"

For a long a moment, there was silence from the woman behind him.

Then, "Terra, are you…jealous?" Her voice was slightly amused at the notion.

The earth warrior stiffened at the notion, clenching his hands into fists. "Well, why would you think that?" he dodged the question.

A soft chuckling came from behind him, and Aqua returned into his line of sight to stand next to him. Reaching out, she took his hand, gently brushing her fingers over the fist until it relaxed. She then slid her fingers to rest beside his and squeezed his hand gently. A faint dusting of pink covered her cheeks. She spoke slowly, choosing her words very carefully.

"Terra…No one, human or animal, could ever take the place you have in my heart," she murmured. "When we first met when we were younger, you were my first friend, my _closest _friend. Since then, you've come to occupy a…different part of my heart." She let the notion hang in the air for a moment, knowing he had caught her meaning. "And, no matter what happens, that part of my heart with you in it will always be in there. Never doubt that, Terra." She peeked up at him before returning her gaze to their intertwined hands. "I promise," she smiled, blushing a rosy red.

And, as Terra smiled back down at her, squeezing her hand gently, he could believe her.

At least, until Ven's voice came echoing from inside the castle, "Aqua! Aqua! I think Terra's having kittens!"

* * *

**A/N: **So, how many of you saw that coming? I've never wrote a fic for humans or any type of romance before, so criticism is greatly appreciated. I also love it when people tell me that they like it.

This is dedicated to Divine Wolfe, who writes _awesome _stories. Seriously. It's also dedicated to fullmetal_inu on Neopets, who convinced me to get off my butt and start writing this.

By the way, I need some opinions on a fanfic I'm considering writing. I was inspired by the idea while at choir camp, by the song "The Ash Grove". And I loved the idea. However, also at choir camp, I came up with another TerraxAqua story that I loved at first, but when I looked at it a few hours later, I was like, "Okay. What was going wrong in my head that made me think of something as noobish and lame as this." So, now I'm worried about this other story is a lame idea, and I'd love some opinions on whether or not to write it. I'm kind of wondering what's going on in my head right now. I mean, I hate AU, and yet I come up with this. What's wrong with me? Anyways, let me know if you think it's lame or if I should write it, or if you have any ideas to improve it. And if I find out someone stole it (unless I end up commissioning someone to write it), I will find out where you live.

Anyways, it would be called "The Ash Grove". Basically, the knight Terra returns to court after spending a few years out at one of the border forts. Before returning to the castle to report to the king, he goes to the place he always used to play as a child, the ash grove in the gardens. There, he finds a strange young woman, and, after some initial argument, the two become fast friends. However, when he asks her to meet him there the next day, she disappears. Terra returns to court, picking up his squire, Ventus, along the way. While at court, he finds the mysterious Lady Aqua, who he soon discovers is the woman he met in the ash grove. But why hadn't he recognized her from court when he was a child? The answer: She had been banished from court for supposedly stealinga Keyblade.

Anyways, it's supposed to be a bit of a darker story. And no, women were not allowed to wield Keyblades. The story will feature a new method of the Keyblade choosing people, Victorian fan language, unwanted arranged engagement, a secret engagement, engagements in battle, and all sorts of fun stuff.

I hope you all enjoyed my story and were able to get a laugh or two out of it!

~Night


End file.
